Our Family's Journey Through Life's Surprises

Category: Mormon

Clearly I am a few weeks behind on the #52Ancestors challenge as I am just now writing about Father’s Day. I wrote about my father, Louis Albert Kirby, back in January, so this post is about the man he learned how to father from. Here’s the facts: Cecil Rober Kirby was born 16 December 1910 … More Cecil Robert Kirby

With the #52Ancestors prompt “Going to the Chapel” I immediately thought about looking at the first chapel built in Hyde Park, Utah, because I already knew that my Great Great Grandfather Thomas Wright Kirby had been involved in it’s construction. Then I read over this paragraph from the history of Hyde Park, Utah from the … More Robert Daines

Talk about another language, this weeks #52ancestors prompt! I have no idea even how to pronounce this ancestor’s name. Aaltje Wasseur is my great-great-grandmother. She was born 29 June 1864 in Stadskanaal (how do you say that?), Netherlands. Here is what I know about her life: She married Onno Frederick Fiet on 6 June 1887 … More Aaltje Wasseur

Fittingly, the #52Ancestors prompt this week is Mother’s Day. I share with you a letter written by William Moroni Daines to his brothers and sisters (including Lydia Jemima Daines) about their mother, Jemima Seamons. This letter was written by William when he was 67 years old, 22 years after Jemima passed away. This letter was … More William Moroni Daines

Up until very recently there was a program in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints known as Home Teaching. The program didn’t go away, but was modified and is now known as Ministering. This isn’t the first time such a change has happened. Before Home Teachers there were Ward Teachers. Ward Teaching was … More Richard Michlethwaite Galloway

As a child I remember being told about a pioneer ancestor of mine who was buried in an unmarked grave in the Logan City Cemetery in Logan, Utah. I thought I knew the general area of the cemetery that her grave is located, but I was way off. In this week’s #52Ancestors post, “In the … More Emily Brown

My last blog post was about my great-great grandmother, Jemima Seamons. She was the second wife of my great-great grandfather, Robert Daines. His first wife, Mary Ann Barker, has a tragic story, and is, as a result, the subject of this week’s #52ancestors post based on the prompt, “misfortune.” Below is the story of her … More Mary Ann Barker

Was it luck? The #52ancestors prompt, “Lucky” lead me to find this story about the Feresmore Little company of pioneers traveling from Omaha, Nebraska to Salt Lake City, Utah. The company included my great-great grandparents, Jemima Seamons and Robert Daines. It was a small company, only consisting of nine men and two women. Most of … More Jemima Seamons

In honor of Women’s History Month the #52Ancestors prompt this week is “Strong Woman.” It is impossible to choose the strongest woman in a family, as strength comes in many forms. In contemporary American culture it is easy to focus on women who show their strength as they venture outside of traditional female roles. However, … More Rachel Ann Mayer

For help on this week’s #52Ancestors prompt, “Where There’s A Will…,” I contacted my mom, Linda Galloway Kirby. You see, when I was much too young to remember, my mom’s father (mentioned briefly in an earlier post), Ernest Richard Galloway, was hit by a car. As you will read below, it was his will and … More Ernest Richard Galloway, My Grandpa